Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined with Steven Pinker
Hosted by Carleton University’s Dr John Logan <br>Presented with Carleton University
Everyone should read this astonishing book.... Steven Pinker's brilliant, mind-altering book about the decline of violence.
The author of The New York Times bestseller The Stuff of Thought offers a controversial history of violence. Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as Steven Pinker shows in his startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millennia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species's existence.
Pinker continues his exploration of the essence of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives- the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away-and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail.